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A12 WORLD NEWS
Wednesday 22 January 2020
Office of Venezuela's Guaidó raided during his trip abroad

By SCOTT SMITH bers of the National Assem-
CARACAS, Venezuela bly, which is the last major
(AP) — Intelligence police national institution under
raided the office of Juan opposition control and
Guaidó on Tuesday, while the center of the struggle
the U.S.-backed opposi- over who governs the crisis-
tion leader was travelling wracked nation.
in Europe seeking to bolster Last week, a caravan of
support for his campaign to SUVs carrying lawmakers
oust Venezuelan President toward the building was
Nicolás Maduro. struck with rocks and poles
Masked officers from by civilians and gunfire was
feared SEBIN intelligence heard. On Jan. 5, Guaidó
police unit blocked the attempted to jump a fence
building's entrances and to get in only to be rebuffed
lined the street with their by riot police.
vehicles, barring entry by Guanipa called on sup-
lawmakers aligned with porters to march with law-
Guaidó. makers to retake the Na-
The United States and tional Assembly chambers
about 60 other nations rec- next week, setting up a po-
ognize Guaidó, who heads tential clash with the back-
the opposition-dominated Venezuela's Opposition leader Juan Guaido, right, shakes hands with British Foreign Secretary ers of Maduro.
National Assembly, as Ven- Dominic Raab at Foreign Office in London, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020. "We are going to show
ezuela's legitimate presi- Associated Press them that we are fighting
dent. They contend Madu- for the freedom of Venezu-
ro's 2018 re-election was in- legislator Ángel Torres said. position lawmakers called were not going to attempt ela," Guanipa said. "We'll
valid and marred by fraud. "They usually enter without off an attempt to hold a an entry until next week. demonstrate, as we always
Guaidó, however, has no a judge's order and set up National Assembly session Instead, the lawmakers have, that we're absolutely
control over government a show saying they found in the congress building held a makeshift meeting ready to do whatever is re-
institution or the military. this or that or any artifact across town, saying they on a public square in an quired to achieve democ-
Legislator Manuela Bolívar they might have planted." wanted to avoid clashes opposition-friendly part of racy in Venezuela."
confirmed the raid on his In November, unidenti- with security forces and Caracas away from down- During their remote session,
office, saying she was al- fied armed men with their armed government sup- town. They sat on chairs set lawmakers condemned
lowed to go to the door faces covered raided the porters blocking entry. up before a stage amid officials for the disappear-
of the third-floor space, headquarters of Guaidó's Juan Pablo Guanipa, first trees and backed by their ance of Ismael León, a
where officers were still in- political party, taking cell- vice president of the Na- flag-colored streamer and deputy in the National As-
side working inside. phones, computer and tional Assembly, said from emblem. sembly who they said was
Lawmakers called it an ille- ID cards from staffers the the headquarters of a polit- It was the third consecutive swept up by security forces
gal search. night before a large street ical party that streets lead- week that groups of armed shortly after leaving the
"We don't know what protest against Maduro. ing to their legislative build- civilians known as "colec- party headquarters head-
they're stolen or what Tuesday's police action ing had been "militarized" tivos" and security forces ed to the legislative build-
they've brought with them," came just hours after op- by armed groups, so they blocked access for mem- ing. q

Panama begins exhumation of

victims from 1989 U.S. invasion

Panama City cemetery af- manians, including the wife months after the event be-
ter a truth commission set of a lieutenant in Noriega's cause they had been bur-
up three years ago docu- military who along with her ied in common graves.
mented about 20 disap- daughters is asking for the DNA testing is expected to
pearances from the U.S. opening of a coffin that take months.
military action to topple they contend was mistak- "For me this is a celebra-
strongman Manuel Norie- enly identified as contain- tion of being able to know
ga. ing his remains. where my father will be,"
Prosecutor Maribel Cabal- "I am going to demand they said Bethancourt, who lives
A woman places flowers on the grave of a person who died lero told reporters the re- open that coffin for me be- in California. "We are al-
during the 1989 U.S. military invasion that ousted Panamanian
strongman Manuel Noriega, on the 30th anniversary of the inva- mains will be compared to cause they put my father's ready past the mourning."
sion in Panama City, Friday, Dec. 20, 2019. a database of DNA from name there," said Brigitte About 514 Panamanians
Associated Press relatives in 14 cases. Bethancourt, 60, daughter including soldiers and civil-
Work began with the plac- of Braulio Bethancort. "It is ians were killed in the inva-
PANAMA CITY (AP) — Fo- who had relatives die or ing of yellow tape where a lack of respect to put the sion, according to official
rensic workers took pre- disappear and have lived the forensic experts would name knowing that three estimates, while the U.S.
liminary steps Monday for with unanswered ques- begin digging, though no times I told prosecutors it military reported 23 troop
digging up the remains of tions about their fate for 30 soil had yet been turned by was not my father." casualties.
some victims of the 1989 years. afternoon. The cemetery contains Human rights groups be-
U.S. invasion of Panama, Authorities gave the ap- On hand to witness the more than 100 people lieve the number of Pana-
an effort that has lifted the proval for exhumation of process were relatives of killed during the invasion manian dead could be
hopes of Panamanians the 19 bodies buried in a missing and dead Pana- that were first exhumed higher.q